Butterflowers | Piero Leonardi

2004-2005

“It was the first days of June and I was in a field of poppies, I wanted to photograph the chromatic contrast between the red of the petals and the blue of the sky.
I lowered all the grass around and lay down to photograph one from below, with only the sky as a background, when a gust of wind moved the petals and the poppy turned into a butterfly.
My approach changed in an instant: the flower became “alive”, it assumed its own personality, made of soul and desires. It wanted to fly.
I remember thinking: poppies are born and die anchored to their stellum, they spend their lives looking at the sky without ever being able to reach it. So I decided to tell not only their desire but also the fulfillment of it.”